FOIA Handbook

* The Office of Administration, whose sole function is to advise and assist the President, and which has no substantial independent authority, is not subject to FOIA and related authorities.

This handbook is intended to assist you in making a Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) request to the Office of Administration (OA), Executive
Office of the President (EOP). For further details please refer to the OA FOIA
Regulations which can be found at
5 CFR §2502. These regulations are
currently being updated.

OA is a distinct entity from the other components of the EOP. Please
contact the separate EOP entities, that are subject to FOIA, individually, if
you would like to make a FOIA request for their records.

Mission of the Office of Administration:

The Office of Administration (OA) was established within the Executive
Office of the President (EOP) by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1977. The Office
was activated, effective December 4, 1977, by Executive Order 12028 of December
12, 1977. Its primary function is to provide common administrative and support
services for the various entities of the EOP. The services include personnel;
financial management; data processing; library services; records management; and
general office operations, such as mail, messenger, printing, procurement, and
supply services. OA has no field organizations and consists of the following:

(1) Office of the Director and General Counsel

(2) Equal Employment Opportunity

(3) Facilities Management

(4) Financial Management

(5) General Services

(6) Human Resources Management

(7) Information Systems & Technology

(8) Library Research Services

(9) Operations and Legislative Liaison

(10) Security

Current Publications:

None at this time.

Submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request:

A request made under the FOIA must be submitted in writing, by mail or
fax, to the following address:

The words FOIA REQUEST should be clearly marked on both
the letter and the envelope. Due to security measures at the Eisenhower
Executive Office Building and the New Executive Office Building, requests made
in person should be delivered to Room G-1, at the above address. Describe the
specific records requested in enough detail so that they can be located with
a reasonable amount of effort. Requests for answers posed as questions are not
covered under the FOIA. The request must be for records. Records must exist at
the time the request is submitted.

Please state your willingness and ability to pay applicable fees or
provide a justification to support a fee waiver.

For further information, please refer to the Office of Administration
FOIA Regulations at 5 CFR §2502, which are
currently being reviewed in light of the passage of the E-FOIA Amendment of
1996. Questions relating to the OA records and disclosure regulations may be
directed to (202) 395-2273.

Privacy Act:

Information may also be requested from OA under the
Privacy Act, 5
U.S.C. 552a. Privacy Act requests for information in OA's files must be in
writing and sent to the same address as FOIA requests (see Submitting a
Freedom of Information Act Request). For further details please refer
to the OA Privacy Act Regulations which can be found at
5 CFR §2504.

The Privacy Act Regulations apply to all records maintained by the
Office of Administration that are contained in a system of records, and that
contain information about an individual. The regulations also establish
procedures that (a) authorize an individual's access to records maintained about
him/her; (b) limit the access of other persons to those records; and (c) permit
an individual to request the amendment or correction of records about him/her self.

Please note that records maintained by OA are usually kept only on
individuals employed by the office and not on all other citizens or residents of the United States.

OA's website address:

OA's Electronic Reading Room

OA's Electronic Reading Room located on OA's website (see address above)
contains documents specifically identified for inclusion by the FOIA, as well as documents for which we have received multiple requests: